We really dislike travel days and our Monday started at 5am to catch our Quantas flight to Perth. But in comparison to our 20 hour travel day, our four hour flight was much less painful than expected (except for those unusual breakfast cakes of quinoa and kale). And we managed to score an early room checkin by noon, after booking our Margaret River tour for Thursday at the Western Australia Tourist centre. Wondering why there’s a separate state and city tourism centre within a block of each other.
Also wondering what those pockmarks of varying sizes, colours and shapes on the ground were as we flew over Southern Australia - abandoned mines? Dried up lakes? I’m hoping they’re some kind of naturally occurring dips in the land rather than results of human destruction.
Oh yeah speaking of destruction, I watched another really interesting film on the Franklin River in Western Tasmania and a multi year organized blockade to stop its damming, shown through the eyes of a child of one of the protesters who died too early from cancer. They travelled the same 14 day river route to share their father’s experience and the beauty preserved by the collective efforts. So spoiler alert - the dam was successfully stopped by the courts. But its beauty sure made me want to go there although seems very remote. The film is called Franklin; really worth watching. Wondering whether I should have participated in the blockade to stop old growth foresting at Fairy Creek and make sure I float down the Cowichan River this year.
We’re chasing sun on this trip and we definitely found it. 37 degrees yesterday and so pleasant to eat dinner and walk outside at 7:30 in the evening after the sun sets. Below was the irresistible delicate cloud formation from our window. Facing the other direction, the city skyline is full of office towers.
Today is only a high of 35. We recall Craig was doing his “thesis” on the impacts of sun versus shade the last time we visited. 😆 Off to find some shade and the occasional sun.
